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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26350696">Told me what?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/EstelleDusk/pseuds/EstelleDusk'>EstelleDusk</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>BadAss Robotnik Agents [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Implied Unethical Science, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 04:42:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,984</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26350696</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/EstelleDusk/pseuds/EstelleDusk</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"At the end of the day, Stone, you are replaceable. No one will miss you if a mission goes wrong, especially because you're new. But no one will miss me either and I’ve been here a long time. We're all disposable, meant to be used until there's nothing else to take from us."</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Agent Willow/Agent Sycamore, Dr. Eggman | Dr. Robotnik &amp; Agent Stone, Dr. Eggman | Dr. Robotnik/Agent Stone (if you squint)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>BadAss Robotnik Agents [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1775713</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Told me what?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>this one is mostly meant as an exposition on the background of what's going on with the whole Robotnik Agents thing</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Agent Stone felt like he was fitting in quite easily, once he got past the fact that some of the other agents would sneer at the new guy and didn’t bother hiding it except when they were outside of the base. Outside, everyone was the picture of professionalism. Inside, it was like high school but everyone was an adult and knew better and could likely easily kill each other with barely a thought.</p>
<p>He tried not to think about why such dangerous people easily obeyed their boss, who if memory served, was just as much of a collared mutt as the rest of them.</p>
<p>The other agents could have been looking at Stone for any reason, that’s how juvenile their sneers were. He wasn’t the tallest, nor the most handsome. While he had been trained as a spy, he wasn’t the quietest or even the most unassuming. He had the best facial hair of all of Robotnik’s Agents, but Sycamore’s hair was better, and Jade’s was great. He just wasn’t the <em> best </em>when compared to all these people that had been erased as well. So they can’t have been eyeing him with an appreciation for his talents.</p>
<p>Speaking of Sycamore, Stone did<em> not </em>expect to walk in on him and… was that Agent Willow? He thought Sycamore was sweet on Timber, but it’s a little hard to ignore how he hung off of Willow now. Should he do something? Apologize for not knocking before walking into a <em> common </em>area? This is a shared space; they should take those bedroom eyes and hands to an actual bedroom.</p>
<p>“Wow there, Stone, I think China can hear you thinking from here. There’s nothing to worry about, no abuse of power or anything, not that there’s an HR to report stuff like that to.” Sycamore grinned, pulling away from Willow just enough to be marginally decent now.</p>
<p>“No one’s told him yet…?” Willow murmured against Sycamore’s neck, just audible enough for Stone to hear.</p>
<p>“Told me what?”</p>
<p>“He’s mostly been around Jade and the Doctor, and you know how those two are. We’d sooner get a Florida governor to believe in global warming than get them to talk about life and romance. Hell, you’d get more answers from one of those robots of his.” Sycamore shivered and grinned at his partner, reaching up to caress an ear.</p>
<p>“Don’t let them hear you say that.”</p>
<p>“What are they going to do? More target practice?”</p>
<p>Stone watched Willow’s eyes dart towards him and felt a small tug in his heart. Then the agent smiled and kissed the corner of Sycamore’s mouth before completely pulling away. Willow gestured for Stone to follow him, only then did Stone notice that Jade had quietly entered the room behind him. On his way out, the new agent made sure the door clicked shut, cutting off Sycamore’s loud whine upon noticing his boss and lover had switched places.</p>
<p>He tilted his head and waited a moment, realizing there was absolutely no sound coming from the closed room. Huh, and here he thought the soundproofing was only in the bedrooms. Stone turned to Willow and noted the other man's smile, idly wondering if he should be worried about Sycamore. </p>
<p>"Alright, Stone, what<em> has </em>the Doctor and Jade told you about how things work here? I'll try to fill in the blanks." Willow turned and continued down the hall with Stone at his heels.</p>
<p>"The Doctor's word is law, and liable to change at his whim. Just do as he says, and the only questions that should be asked, are to clarify an order. Any questions place me at risk of being insulted and if I feel insulted, I should do as I've been tasked before finding a replacement so I can work out any feelings at the Workshop."</p>
<p>Willow hummed, leading Stone along. The white halls of Robotnik's lair<em> seemed </em>to never end, never turn. If it weren't for their rounded shape, he'd wonder how the corners stay so clean, but there are no corners. And he's seen the robots tasked with cleaning, attached to the sides and ceilings as they polished everything to a fine pristine shine. Like oversized white bugs with a single glaring red eye. Waking up to one of those robots staring down at him had been a wakeup call Stone was not eager to repeat. </p>
<p>"All agents get a monthly spending limit, liable to be lessened or upped according to our work and the Doctor's mood."</p>
<p>"Robotnik Agents."</p>
<p>"All of his agents, I get it."</p>
<p>"No," Willow stopped in the middle of the hallway and turned to Stone, a cleaning robot scurried along the ceiling. "We're not just the Doctor's agents. We are Robotnik Agents, we belong to Robotnik Enterprises. Even if the Doctor dies, we'll be given a new handler. Just like you're not really Stone, the Doctor isn't really Robotnik. There will be plenty more Doctor Robotniks, and plenty more Agent Stones."</p>
<p>So the name is a company? Well that explains why the pendant he had been given before was an emblazoned R. Part of him does wonder about the previous Agent Stones, did they look anything like him? Were they competent at all? He decides he doesn’t like that someone else could take his exact name.</p>
<p>"At the end of the day, Stone, you are replaceable. No one will miss you if a mission goes wrong, especially because you're new. But no one will miss me either and I’ve been here a long time. We're all disposable, meant to be used until there's nothing else to take from us."</p>
<p>Was it his place to question what Willow said, when he had just seen him and Sycamore together?</p>
<p>“Sy is right, other countries can hear you thinking, you’ll have to work on that if you have any hope for staying alive. I suppose this brings us back to the main point… relationships. The Doctor doesn’t expect us to be like monks, as long as we do as ordered, we can sleep with whoever we want as long as it doesn’t cause any trouble.”</p>
<p>That was a very<em> broad </em>definition. As long as it doesn’t cause trouble for<em> whom</em>? For Big Brother? The Doctor? For his fellow agents? What if he wanted to sleep with Sycamore or Willow? Or even Jade or the Doctor? What if he went after the president? The General even? There had to be some hard-line Stone wasn’t allowed to cross.</p>
<p>“Timber is the pickiest about who visits his bed, but I don’t think your eyes have been on him.” Willow continued, again seeming to read Stone’s mind easily. He really should practice hiding his thoughts from people like himself. He got so used to being able to just smile and throw off all but the smartest of people.</p>
<p>“No, they haven’t been.” Stone wasn’t even going to try to pretend he hasn’t been eyeing that pale man’s ass during any impromptu dance session he witnessed. He had seen too many fellow agents in the short time he’s worked here, openly admiring the Doctor while he danced, for Stone to even feel slightly ashamed.</p>
<p>Willow appraised him, humming softly before turning on his heels and continuing his walk down the oval halls, stepping over one of the cleaning robots. “Good luck with that, Stone, tell Jade how it goes.”</p>
<p>After a moment, Stone realized he hadn’t been dismissed yet and trailed after the older agent. That’s another thing he’ll have to adjust, he got so used to being his own boss that he’ll have to remember to show his elders respect. “Why Agent Jade?”</p>
<p>“She’s the one in charge of the pot.”</p>
<p>Pot? Willow didn’t mean drugs, did he? Which meant… “A betting pool? About me and… does he know? Is everyone in on it?”</p>
<p>“It’s usually best to assume nothing escapes the good Doctor’s notice. He has eyes everywhere and in everything.”</p>
<p>“So he knows… and he hasn’t stopped it.” Stone’s heart still tugged in a strange way, he really hoped he hadn’t caught feelings for the Doctor, especially since now he’s tempted to find the best way to take advantage of the betting pool.</p>
<p>“Why should he? It’s all in good fun, no one’s getting hurt. We weren’t even trying to hide it from you.”</p>
<p>“You’re trying to hide where you’re taking me.” Stone is pretty sure he’s never gone this far down into the base before.</p>
<p>“You haven’t noticed yet…? Hmm, then again, you’re rarely been away from the Doctor, Jade, and the badniks these past few weeks… Stone? Take the lead. Follow your heart.”</p>
<p>“Badniks?” Stone rolled his eyes once he got the quiet confirmation that the robots had a specific name. Where the hell did such a name come from? Badniks? It’s like saying the last half of Robotnik but with the word bad thrown in for aesthetic.</p>
<p>Stone followed the tugging in his heart, a feeling that had been there since the moment he saw Jade enter the room. It led them, after many twists and turns, to the Doctor, sipping at something in a long-stemmed wineglass and watching a screen, surrounded by his badniks. The screen showed the locations of all the agents, little dots with no labels on a map that had no walls or details; he’s seen it enough these past weeks to know what it is, but he knew it wouldn’t be clear to any random non-agent.</p>
<p>The tugging stopped only once Stone stood directly before the grinning man. “I don’t understand.”</p>
<p>“He can call for any of us, usually if you get that tug in your heart, you’re the closest living agent and the Doctor’s alone.” Willow didn’t mention how certain h was that he and Stone hadn’t been the nearest agents once Jade had left the Doctor, instead he put that thought away to discuss with the others later when they go over their bets again.</p>
<p>“But of<b><em>course</em></b>, I can activate it whenever I want someone, hmm... <em> specific</em>. It’s one of the many little things I did to you when you were on my table, and it’s why I’m<em> everyone’s </em>doctors. From their GP to dentist to gynecologist. No one else will ever get to lay their grubby little hands on <b>MY </b> things without <b>MY </b>say-so.”</p>
<p>Stone was relieved that the tug in his heart wasn’t a case of caught feelings, but he still had to shove down the emotions he got from the open show of possessiveness. He’s an adult, he’s had many tries at relationships, and he knew he’s always responded well to things like this. Even if Willow was right and he could be with literally anyone, he’ll think about that after he gets more information on the bets on himself.</p>
<p>He tilted his head, taking a second to imagine Robotnik as every possible doctor in the world. “So if I get shot?”</p>
<p>“Then welcome back to my table, I hope it wasn’t from something stupid, or else I’ll make sure to let everyone know how idiotic you were.”</p>
<p>“What about my old shrink?”</p>
<p>“Little old Clarice can find herself a new patient. The PTSD meds I make are thousands of times better than anything she could prescribe for you.”</p>
<p>Willow watched the back and forth between his coworker and boss, and for a moment, he’s certain that he was right when he made his bet about them. If they aren’t together within the month, he’ll call bullshit.</p>
<p>At Stone’s mention of a urologist and the Doctor’s highly amused and suggestive eyebrow, Willow decided he’s seen enough and leaves the room. A quick check of his phone showed a livestream of Sycamore at target practice, and he was<em> not </em>doing well. Poor guy, but maybe he’ll learn this time to keep opinions about Jade to himself.</p>
<p>At least until he’s not in a public space where he can be overheard.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>right so</p>
<p>i made a writing twitter! @StarryWriting</p>
<p>here's the specific thread about this series, please, give it a read, you'll get fun facts and snippets </p>
<p>
  <a href="https://twitter.com/StarryWriting/status/1297503055731200002?s=20">https://twitter.com/StarryWriting/status/1297503055731200002?s=20</a>
</p></blockquote></div></div>
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